A school principal has thrown his hat into the ring seeking a council seat in Ward 3, along with the candidate who finished third in the same ward in the last civic election.
Craig Chamberlain, now a three-time candidate, and Guelph Community Christian School principal Bob Moore both filed their nomination papers at city hall Monday.
Ward 3’s two current councillors are Maggie Laidlaw, who hasn’t filed yet but has said she will seek re-election, and June Hofland, who hasn’t yet indicated her intentions.
Chamberlain finished a strong third in the 2010 election in a six-candidate field, with more than twice as many votes as the fourth-place finisher.
In a news release Monday announcing his entry into the 2014 race, he listed seven election promises. Two of them are to “champion better engagement of our community’s volunteer expertise and less use of consultants” and to “champion smart infill and brownfield redevelopment in Ward 3.”
Chamberlain said he is “not a political unknown,” having “demonstrated my commitment, accessibility and transparency publicly in numerous ways for many years.”
He said he has campaigned for “affordability and better government on behalf of Ward 3 individuals, families and businesses.”
Moore, who will retire from his principal’s job in June after 25 years as an administrator, wants to keep using his skills in public service, he said in a news release, noting he has lived in Ward 3 for 10 years.
Moore’s many years in school administration have “trained him how to work well with people, budgets, policies and different governance models in order to create caring institutions that can effectively and efficiently serve the needs of his constituents,” he said.
He said that in his job as principal of Guelph Community Christian School, he has shown himself to be “an effective administrator who answers emails, meets with concerned constituents and ‘gets things done’ promptly. He works with a customer service orientation and likes to solve problems and find answers.”
As the private school’s longtime principal, Moore oversaw its 2012 move from a small building on Water Street to the former College Avenue Public School, which involved major renovations to the school on College Avenue.